1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a method of polishing stone with an abrasive article. The abrasive article comprises a backing having a plurality of abrasive particles bonded to the backing by means of a resilient binder comprising an addition polymerized resin.
2. Related Art
Stone materials, like marble and granite, are widely used in buildings, monuments, homes, offices and the like. Stone materials can be synthetically made or quarried from natural deposits in the earth. In some instances it is desirable to have a very smooth or high gloss finish on the exposed surface of the stone. In order to achieve this high gloss, the stone is typically subjected to several steps. First, the stone is quarried or mined. Then it is cut to the desired length or dimensions, for instance by an abrasive coated wire saw. If the stone material needs to be further dimensioned, or if a contoured surface is desired, it can be dimensioned with bonded abrasives (abrasive particles and binder molded into a hardened mass). In this step, there may be several types and grades of bonded abrasives which are utilized. Additionally, surface defects in the stone surface can be removed with abrasive products comprising abrasive particles bonded together in a metal binder, referred to as "metal bonded abrasives," such as those known under the trade designation 3M Flexible Metal Bond "Diamond Abrasives", Grades M250, M125, M74, M40 and M20, commercially available from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn. ("3M"). Finally, the stone is polished with an abrasive article to a desired surface finish or "gloss." Gloss relates to the surface shininess or luster and involves the ability of the surface to reflect light. The polishing step will generally remove any remaining defects and scratches produced by earlier abrading steps. In the polishing step there may be used a series of abrasive articles with sequentially finer grades. An example of such a product is that known under the trade designation "3M Flexible Resin Bond Diamond Abrasives", Grades R30, R10 and R2, commercially available from 3M.
To achieve a high gloss, the average scratch depth needs to be substantially reduced. If scratch depth is not reduced, light may not be specularly reflected, resulting in a lower gloss. What is desired in the abrasive industry is an efficient method to provide a high gloss on a stone surface.